Maybe this is a dumb question but is there any technique for doing a good measurement of a building? Each time I measure rooms and enter the measurements into CAD I am always way off. I use a tape measure not laser. I searched for videos and info on the internet but no luck.

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The best book out there is Recoding Historic Structures, which is really focused on measuring and documenting buildings for HABS/HARS for the National Park Service. But the techniques are the same for any age of building.

You need to string dimensions….. for example, if you are measuring a wall with several openings, fix the end of the tape at one end and measure the openings from the common starting point. Its best to have a 100 feet tape. If you have a 30 ft tape you'll have to reset your "Zero Point" as you move along the building. Make sure the tale is taut. If I am measuring by myself, I will duct tape the dumb end of the tape.

You should also get a foot and inches calculator to add up your dimensions in the field. Just to back check your work. No need to keep going back and forth from the office to the project site.

Vertical dimension can be a bit more tricky as you need to set the finish floor height to an element on the building, then measure elements from that fixed point. If its a masonry building, we like to count the bricks and use that as our unit of measure.

We basically assume that the building is square and plumb. Obviously, much older buildings will not necessarily be square. Those damn pioneers….. not have laser equipment and using an old piece of string or rope to lay out their building.